Two couples, a parade from downtown Caribou to the airfield, and two airplane flights were the scene in 1930 when the couples each took off in a single-engine plane to tie the knot high over Aroostook County.

St-Jean-Baptiste Day -- June 24th -- in Lewiston-Auburn was a very public display of ethnic pride for nearly a century. Since about 1830, French Canadians had used St. John the Baptist's birthdate as a demonstration of French-Canadian nationalism.

Before the era of recorded music and radio, nearly every community had a band that played at parades and other civic events. Fire departments had bands, military units had bands, theaters had bands. Band music was everywhere.

John Martin (1823-1904) of Bangor began in 1864 looking back at his life, family, business and recreational experiences and recording those events and thoughts -- with narrative and illustrations -- for his children. Martin called himself an "expert accountant," but he was interested in architecture, dance, fashion, gardening, politics, business, religion, and the world around him.